East Europeans cash in on animal trade

The emergence of an 'East European connection' in the illegal trade in animals from the Sahara is alarming conservationists. TRAFFIC Europe, the organisation that monitors trade in wildlife, is also concerned that traders who deal in rare birds are branching out into exotic reptiles and insects.

In May alone, two attempts to smuggle hundreds of animals from the Sahara came to light. Moroccan police discovered a hoard of protected species hidden in bags and boxes by a group of Czechoslovakians who told a local court they were scientists and needed the animals for experiments.

The find included 158 tortoises, 58 chameleons, two dozen hedgehogs, grass snakes, horned vipers and toads. In the second case, French customs officers at Besancon found 660 animals hidden in the luggage of Czechoslovakian 'tourists' travelling back from the Sahara by coach.

'There is a realisation in Eastern Europe that wild fauna can be a source ...

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